tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post3839282893706128711..comments2015-07-31T10:11:01.495+02:00Comments on A view from the cycle path: Cycling and the economyDavid Hembrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-6462700120993610332009-02-26T16:25:00.000+01:002009-02-26T16:25:00.000+01:00Nick, I don't think it is that solid. I don't clai...Nick, I don't think it is that solid. I don't claim there is a direct correlation. That's not the point. However, having been told so many times when in the UK that doing any little thing for cycling was "too expensive", I think it is interesting to note that creating a really decent environment for cycling has not destroyed the economy of this nation. Nor has doing many other things which are David Hembrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-44404326162037702062009-02-26T16:17:00.000+01:002009-02-26T16:17:00.000+01:00Nice try David, but the correlations you make simp...Nice try David, but the correlations you make simply don't stand up. I fully agree with your premise that cycling=good and should be encouraged, but I think you're stretching it a bit by using these particular sets of 'statistics' to try to give your argument a solid foundation.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16112462990202280587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-42393056951821852922009-02-25T11:03:00.000+01:002009-02-25T11:03:00.000+01:00Coco: I think it's quite simple. The Chinese haven...Coco: I think it's quite simple. The Chinese haven't been able to have cars, so now that they're available they are attractive. Unfortunately they seem to be (to some extent, at least) following the same headlong path towards motoring as the entire western world, including the Netherlands, did in the 1950s.<BR/><BR/>The Dutch approach to get people onto bikes has simply been to make it a <B>very<David Hembrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-524936953102578982009-02-25T10:51:00.000+01:002009-02-25T10:51:00.000+01:00Jayadeep: I see the cycling rate, and the behaviou...Jayadeep: I see the cycling rate, and the behaviour of cyclists, as <A HREF="http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2008/08/pit-canaries.html" REL="nofollow">exactly that kind of indicator</A>.<BR/><BR/>Karl: Correlation is not the same thing as causation. Sometimes it is impossible to find a link which proves that things are related.<BR/><BR/>However, I think it helps to look at it in reverse. What you David Hembrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14543024940730663645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-75836690619668687952009-02-25T10:31:00.000+01:002009-02-25T10:31:00.000+01:00China's cycling rate may be dropping... but from a...China's cycling rate may be dropping... but from a very high base! I wonder though if that relative drop goes to show that cycling is more sustainable in a democracy (ie China's very high rate of cycling comes from a time when people had, literally, no choice). I know some cycling 'campaigners' who would not say no to totalitarianism if it meant more cycling. And yet the Netherlands manage to cocohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17040377173478647027noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-81509531960231026772009-02-25T10:20:00.000+01:002009-02-25T10:20:00.000+01:00Interesting, but I think you&#39;re jumping to con...Interesting, but I think you&#39;re jumping to conclusions here. What we have are two sets of data (&#39;Current Account Balance&#39; and an amalgam of &#39;no. of people cycling&#39; &amp; &#39;No. of bikes&#39;.<BR/><BR/>You show that there seems to be a positive correlation between the two, but you haven&#39;t shown the link. These two sets of data could both be symptoms of a third set of Karl McCracken (twitter: @karlonsea)http://www.mccracken.me.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-22427487398204976262009-02-25T04:16:00.000+01:002009-02-25T04:16:00.000+01:00Thanks! More Ammo.When I think about infrastructu...Thanks! More Ammo.<BR/><BR/>When I think about infrastructure costs, I think about those big trucks that pound our roads into potholes. They are the biggest offender, but cars aren't that light either. But compare that weight to a bike and you see why the costs of maintaining bike infrastructure is so much less.spiderlegreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-80617372556778140692009-02-25T02:00:00.000+01:002009-02-25T02:00:00.000+01:00Great observation David - while it may not be obvi...Great observation David - while it may not be obvious, I do believe it reflect the country's attitude towards life and economy by looking at the cycling population.Jayadeep(JDP)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13871541935050882722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102538965694240940.post-12180495999614900212009-02-25T00:23:00.000+01:002009-02-25T00:23:00.000+01:00Interesting graph. I see Canada is at #14, right ...Interesting graph. I see Canada is at #14, right next to Sweden. <BR/><BR/>Until the current economic crises hit, Canada had run budget surpluses for the last nine years. Former finance minister Paul Martin talked about completely paying off Canada's national debt by 2023. <BR/><BR/>Toronto's financial district is called Bay Street, as that is the name of the street at its centre. Bay Street Kevin Lovehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13186428862833389619noreply@blogger.com